Bean-picker



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. A. BACON. BEAN PIGKER',

No. 535,557. Patented Mar. 12, 1895.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. A. BACON.

I BEAN PIGKER. I No. 535,657. Patented Mar. 12, 1895.

I WITNESSES S I lNVE/VI'OQ? V I fliforneys.

STATES PATENT O FICE.

HIRAM'A. BACON, OF PONTIAC, MICHIGAN.

BEAN-PICKER.

SEECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 535,657, dated March 12,1895.

Application filed June 3, 1893. Serial No. 476,457. (No model.)

skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to bean pickers, and has for its object improvements in the mechanism for feeding, and controlling the feed of the beans passing from the hopper on to the moving apron, where theyare separated or cleaned by the operator. Machines employed for this purpose are arranged, with a moving apron that generally passes from a hopper toward the operator; the hopper being located at what may be termed the back of the machine, while the operator sits in front of it,

and the beans are received from the hopper on an endless belt, over which they are scattered by proper mechanism, so that they are no where piled up in heaps. As the belt with beans scattered upon it moves forward toward ,the'operator the trash or material to be rejected and thrown away can be easily recognized and picked out by theoperator, and thrown into proper receptacles, while the beans of quality proper for use are allowed to, move forward over the roll that supports the front end of the belt or apron where they drop into receptacles, or chutes leading to the receptacles. The trash that is mixed with beans is of various material and of various sizes,

consisting of small stones, short sticks, pieces of bean pods, and various material of this character and the aperture through which the beans are fed from the hopper on to the apron, must be of a character to permit all such trash to pass through it, without clogging it and at the same time, it must be of a character to prevent the beans from passing through it so fast that the operator cannot take care of them; and as some times there is much more trash in the beans to be cleaned than there is at other times, the passage way must be adjustable, because if there is a greater amount of trash, the operator cannot so quickly remove it, and the feed must be slower, while with other materials where the amount of trash is less, the rate of feed may be faster.

Other features of improvement relating to the general construction of the machine will be,p0inted out.

In the drawings, Figure 1,is a perspective of the complete machine. Fig. 2, is asectional elevation, the stand being omitted. Fig. 3, shows a screen with long narrow meshes used to separate split beans from whole ones.

Fig. 4., is a cross section at 0c 00 of Fig. 1, and shows the agitator, in the passageway between the hopper and the apron, which causes a constant feed.

A, indicates the main framework; A, a cen tral brace; B, a main driving wheel supported on this brace; and O, a treadle supported by the frame A, and connected with the driving wheel B, by'a pitman D.

The frame A, supports a rectangular framediately under the belt F, is a flat table a, 00-

cupying a width equal to that of the belt, but not fully equal to the space between the sides of the frame E, there being on each side of the table a, and between it and the side of the frame, a slit or passageway leading to the chute 0, through either of which passageways the operator throws the trash into the chute c, whence it drops into astorage receptacle b. Under the roller f, is the mouth of a second oblique chute d, into which are dropped beans carried by the traveling apron or belt F, and by which they are conveyed across the screen d, to their proper receptacle. In passing across the screen (1, the broken beans and half beans drop through the screen into a receptacle located just below the screen. On

the end of the rollerf, is a small wheel K, which is belted to the main driving wheel D. On the face of the wheel K, is a crank-pin 70, that engages with a slotted hanger, Z. The slotted hanger Z, turns a rock-shaft, 'n, that reaches across the mouth of the hopper H, and is provided with a finger, Z, that vibrates in front of a block P. The block P, fills about one-half of the mouth of the hopper H, and under it separated therefrom, bya short space P, is a sliding valve R, arranged to slide across the mouth of the hopper H, and to be closed entirely, or to be partially opened or fully opened as may be desired.

The rapidity of the feed does not depend entirely on the position of the sliding valve, but is affected considerably by the size of the passage way P, under the block P. This passage way is made so narrow or shallow that the weight of the beans in the hopper will not force a constant stream through the passage way, but is large enough to permit any of thetrash commonly found in beans, to pass under the block P, and around the end of the slide B, when forced forward by the combined action of the weight of the beans in the hopper and the agitating finger Z. The finger Z, vibrates with each revolution of the wheel K, and keeps constantly crowding forwardthe beans in the mouth of the hopper and prevents any clogging. I prefer to make the hanger Z, and the finger or agitator Z, of spring metal so that it will yield slightly if its motion is resisted by any unusually large article.

In the bottom of the chute d, is a screen d, of which the openings are long and narrow, adapted to permit the passage through them, of split or broken beans, but over which whole beans, pass to the end [of the chute.

At each side of the frame E, and supported on the top of the main frame work A, is a movable table, .5", s, pivoted to the frame work at its rear end, and movable at its front end so that it canbe readily adjusted to accommodate theoperator. The object of these movable tables is to form a support upon which the arm of the operator rests, while the operator is at work.

Between the mouth of the hopper and the carrying belt is a spreader T. This is a valve hinged to the hopper at t, and the free end of which drops by gravity toward the belt, but is prevented from dropping entirely to the belt by a stop which holds the free end of the spreader above the belt, a distance equal to the distance of one bean. The weight of the valve is not sufficient to prevent its lifting to allow the passage of large objects, but is sufficient to prevent the beans from passing through under it in masses more than a single bean thick. At the hopper end the belt peculiar brace A, which is in the form of an inverted Y, and I employ the stem of the Y- shaped brace as a central support to carry the weight of the beans in the hopper, and also support on this standard the arbor of the main driving wheel, thus bringing the driving wheel and the driven wheel into their proper position in relation to the main frame work, without the use of a long shafting.

It will be noticed that a peculiar feature of thefee'ding mechanism, consists in what may be termed, a winding passage way, or crooked passage way, of a shape such that beans will not pass through it without employing the agitator which acts to force them forward gently a few at a time, and at the same time acts to force through any trash which may be mixed with them.

hat I claim is- 1. In a bean picker, the combination of a supporting frame, a carrying belt, a hopper provided with a block P, havinga passage way at one side and underneath the same, a regulating valve, and an agitator adapted to vibrate in the passage way at the side of the block P, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a bean picker, the combination of a frame-work, a carrying belt, a screen, a hopper having a valve closed exit passage-way with a shallow horizontal exit passage-way, a

vibrating spring agitator, and a valve adapted to regulate the length of the horizontal part of said passage-way, substantially as specitied.

3. In a bean picker, the combination of a supporting frame, a hopper provided with a block P having a passage-way at one side and underneath the same, a carrying belt, a regu lating valve, and a vibrating spring agitator in the passage-way at the side of the said block P, substantially as and for the purpose described. I

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

HIRAM A. BACON.

Witnesses:

CHARLES F. BURTON,

MARION A. Rnnva.

ICC 

